Knowing Where They Get Lost

When preparing a class, it is important to know where the students are likely to get confused. A topic which is crystal-clear to you may seem baffling or slightly hazy to others and your job is to catch the students before they fall into a ravine. More than one explanation or illustration may be necessary and you need to think like a student as well as an instructor.

Not all relevant information is needed at this time and much of your job as an instructor is to set aside any information which obscures more than it illuminates. The issue of what they truly need to know goes to the core of the class. Many of us have sat in courses where a teacher revels in complexity. Such approaches are not simply a failure to teach, they are exercises in confusion. I call them anti-teaching.

Any instructor is a guide, a translator, and a student. Each role is crucial.